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Whorehouse in Texas
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| Cast | |
| Mona Stangley | Claire Kingshott |
| Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd | Keith Harper |
| Angel, Angelette 5 | Linda Gay |
| Shy, Angelette 1 | Alice Carter |
| Ginger | Sarah Fuller |
| Ruby Rae, Angelette 2 | Aysev Ismail |
| Dawn, Angelette 4 | Lindsay Richards |
| Taddy Jo, Angelette 3 | Heidi Claisse Richards |
| Lindy Lou | Christine McKeon |
| Beatrice, Dogette 3, Commando | Liz Gillett |
| Jewel | Karen Friett |
| Mayor, Governor | Phil Newton |
| Senator, CJ Scruggs, Slick Dude | Paul Friett |
| Edsel Mackay | David Hampton |
| Doatsey Mae, Choir Lady, Church Lady | Roz Betts |
| Melvin P Thorpe, Farmer | Andy Godfrey |
| Bandleader, Dogette 2, Aggie 1 | Michael Martin |
| Cameraman, Aggie 2 | Tony Weller |
| 24-Hour Lover, Reporter 3, Aggie 3 | Richard Jeffries |
| Miss Wulla Jean, Reporter 2, Choir Lady, Church Lady | Eleanor McEnery |
| Nurse, Reporter 1, Church Lady, Choir Lady | Stephanie David |
| Governor's Aide, Commando | Helen Bezer |
| Dogette 1, Commando | Marion Harper |
| Crew | |
| Stage Manager | Allison Henderson |
| Musical Director | Andy Hall |
| Band | Andy Hall, Graham Durrant, Linda Newton |
| Choreography | Charlotte Jacobs |
| Assistant Stage Manager | Angela Juett |
| Set Design | Wendy Marsh |
| Set Construction | Ron Marsh, Paul Frelling, Steve Grubb, Allison Henderson, Charlotte Jacobs, Pat Leggett, Liz Gillett, Stephanie Dungate, Helen Bezer, Derek McCrossen, Mike Higginson, Colin Rayment |
| Backstage Manager | Helen Bezer |
| Backstage | Colin Rayment, Julia Randall, Linda Newton |
| Properties | Julia Randall |
| Lighting Design & Rigging | Jerry McKeon, Derek McCrossen, Mick Wright, David Shields |
| Lighting Operation | Jerry McKeon |
| Sound | Ben Laing |
Special thanks to Roger Gay for special props, Erith and Swan Theatres for loan of props, and Bluewater Logistics for transportation.
Reviews
Nothing chicken at this ranch
Miss Mona kept a tight rein on her girls, ensuring the service they give was a good one behind the doors at the Chicken Ranch. All was rosy until radio celebrity Melvin P Thorpe rallied the local Christian community and set about campaigning against the "loveless copulation" at the whorehouse.
This all-singing, all-dancing musical comedy at the Edward Alderton Theatre in Bexleyheath follows the ups and downs of Miss Mona's girls as they find themselves laying in the very beds they made. The town's men and women had turned a blind eye to the goings on up at the ranch for over a hundred years. Could the Chicken Ranch survive the latest round of condemnation?
The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas has a large cast with toe-tapping songs, plenty of laughs and, of course, scantily clad women. Claire Kingshott gave a strong performance as Mona Stangley, with Alice Carter and Linda Gay putting on a good show as the contrasting Shy and Angel. Michael Martin, Tony Weller and Richard Jeffries offered a hilariously camp song and dance routine as the Aggie boys which left the audience laughing well into the interval.
The occasional line was bumbled, the odd note slightly off and there were a few botched dance moves but it all seemed to add to the fun of the play and life at the raunchy ranch. All the cast put their hearts and souls into the play and it showed as they pulled off a corker of a performance that left the audience convulsing with laughter.
Ellie Guttridge
Bexley Extra | 2 July 2004
A sparkling display
In the mid-1880s, one of the most famous (or infamous) attractions in Texas was the Chicken Ranch. Initially, this was simply a very popular brothel but, when the Great Depression hit the USA, the establishment's owner (Miss Wulla Jean) allowed the poorer clients to pay for the services with poultry instead of dollars and the new name quickly followed.
The Chicken Ranch became bigger and more famous as the years passed and provided its nearest town with a steady flow of bribes and acted as a major source of revenue for the town's traders. Following the death of Miss Wulla, her Will revealed that the ranch had been left to her favourite 'girl', Miss Mona Stangley, who steered the business to even greater heights.
In 1973, however, a crusading television 'do-gooder' called Melvin Thorpe campaigned for the closure of the Chicken Ranch and he succeeded. Just four years later, Larry L King and Peter Masterson wrote a smash-hit musical about the brothel called The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. When the Edward Alderton Theatre in Bexleyheath announced that it intended to stage a revival of the show, it seemed that (having decided to break away from the Bexleyheath Adult Education Centre and run the theatre as a profitable enterprise) the theatre's artistic team was about to run before it could walk.
Could they really stage a big musical with a large cast in a venue that might be described as smallish but intimate?
The answer is 'yes'. Superbly directed
by Wendy Marsh (who was responsible for the impressive set) the show
truly sparkles with great performances by the charismatic Claire
Kingshott as Miss Mona, Keith Harper as an authentic-looking Sheriff,
and Andy Godfrey as an Elvis Presley lookalike playing the role of the
smarmy, self-glorifying television presenter.
All the principal performers act and sing like professionals and,
perhaps unusually, the rest of the cast also show off a range of
talents that make the word 'amateur' sound almost condescending.
Michael Martin, Tony Weller and Richard Jeffries would excel in The Full Monty with their charm, lack of clothes, enthusiasm and dancing skills, while Linda Gay, Alice Carter and Sarah Fuller are just some of those performers who know how to project a solid personae despite powerful competition. The chorus work sounds as if a leading chorus master (or mistress) had been involved in the production while the musical director Andy Hall does wonders with his small band. Charlotte Jacobs, too, has created first class choreography that makes incredible use of the available space.
Roy Atterbury
Kentish Times I 1 July 2004
